Quinn, Council Members Criticize Limits on Storm Aid

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and about a dozen council members are demanding Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration reverse course on its plan to limit the number of poor New Yorkers eligible for supplemental food stamps in the wake of superstorm Sandy.

As The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, the Bloomberg administration won approval from the federal government to provide supplemental food stamp benefits, officially known as Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to New Yorkers affected by Sandy. But the city decided to limit those people who are eligible to 10 ZIP Codes and parts of two others; another similar program in November included people in 82 ZIP Codes. The Journal also reported that the city will have two sites available for applicants, one of which is open part time.

“It is unacceptable for the city to make disaster victims travel extremely long distances to apply for the benefit, particularly when the purpose of D-SNAP is to make their lives easier during these trying times,” Quinn and 11 other council members wrote in a letter to Robert Doar, commissioner of the city’s Human Resources Administration, which administers food stamps.

Quinn and the council members also urged the administration to expand the number of ZIP Codes.

The current zone “does not sufficiently account for the physical damage of Sandy, as hard-hit communities like Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach are not included in the list,” Quinn and the other members wrote in the letter. “It also doesn’t address the economic damage done to residents throughout New York City, many of whom lost wages in the aftermath of the storm. We believe that proper safeguards can be implemented that allow the city to expand the program while maintaining its integrity.”

The letter marks the first significant criticism from Quinn about the mayor’s response to Sandy. Quinn is preparing a campaign for mayor next year and is a close ally of Mayor Bloomberg.

A spokeswoman for Doar said the city is still reviewing the speaker’s letter. In an interview on Monday, Doar defended the decision to limit the number of eligible ZIP Codes, and he defended the number of application centers, as well.

“Sometimes in government you have to make choices and we’ve made a choice about how to target this program and we think we’ve made the right choice,” Doar said. “We think we’re going to help a lot of people.”